RIVERSIDE: Man who brought stolen vehicle to garage arrested by officer getting patrol car serviced

RIVERSIDE – A man driving a stolen vehicle was arrested Monday, Jan. 30, after he brought a stolen vehicle he was driving into a Riverside automotive business where a City of Riverside police officer was having his patrol vehicle serviced.

Frank Tornel was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and several outstanding warrants.

The officer was at the business having his vehicle inspected and serviced about 11:20 a.m., “when he was alerted by a technician that the License Plate Reader alarm activated while being worked on,” according to Riverside police officials.

After the mechanic at the business notified the officer that his LPR had been activated the officer returned to his vehicle and discovered that another customer had just pulled into the service area driving a stolen vehicle.

The officer quickly identified and and safely detained the driver of the vehicle, who was identified as Frank Miguel Tornel, 31, of Riverside. The vehicle he had been driving had recently been reported stolen in Rancho Cucamonga.

The officer conducted a records check that revealed Tornel had several outstanding warrants for his arrest, including failure to appear on charges of brandishing a firearm, trespassing, and theft.

Tornel was arrested for his warrants and for possession of the stolen vehicle and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center.

An online jail records search revealed Tornell is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail and he is scheduled to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall of Justice Feb. 1.

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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.